Vote Conservative?

[ciphergoth]

I'm very disturbed to find myself in a position where I might be calling for people to vote for the Tory in a constituency election. I refer of course to the upcoming Haltemprice and Howden by-election.

It's starting to look like the only candidate running against David Davis will be former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who is running on a pro-police-state ticket, as very nearly prophesized by this blogger ("I almost picked it. The Scum are running with one tit, not two.") If it's a choice between a Tory arguing in favour of civil liberties and a Murdoch attack dog arguing against them, we're actually going to have to argue for the Tory.

Not that he's not a reactionary bigoted scumbag, you understand, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire. But at least he's the one saying things like this:

There are now 266 state powers allowing officials to force their way into the home. Six hundred public bodies have the authority to bug phones and emails and intercept the post. Forget the security services: councils and quangos conduct 1,000 surveillance operations every month, using powers that ought to be the preserve of law enforcement agencies. [Telegraph, 2008-06-13]

while Kelvin McKenzie's attitude is more like this

Humphrys then asked MacKenzie if he always did what he was told. "I do if it's Rupert Murdoch, strangely," he replied.

When pressed that people would be asked to vote for Murdoch's man, MacKenzie said: "It would be vote for me, the Sun's man. I would be doing it on behalf of the Sun. I have been associated with the Sun for 30-odd years and so I have an umbilical cord to the paper."

[...] "the Sun has always been up for 42 days or perhaps 420 days" [Guardian, 2008-06-13]

Obviously if the vote is not tight then don't vote for either of these bastards; vote for the lefty candidate, or spoil your ballot. But if it looks like there's a real danger that McKenzie might get in, then even Davis could be the lesser of two truly great evils.

Comments

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Do you actually know anyone in Haltemprice and Howden?

Personally I prefer Anal[1] B'stard

[1] Yes, that was a typo I couldn't bring myself to correct...

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Well, no, but it's principle of the thing (or lack of it)...

[jhg.livejournal.com]

Argh.

[actionreplay.livejournal.com]

Well said. I'm linking to this post....

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I'm not convinced, I have to say. I don't think Kelvin McKenzie will get anyway, and frankly I'd like to see David David (so good they named him twice) shoot himself in the foot with this cynical attempt to manipulate the democratic system. I don't buy into this 'sudden attack of idealism' malarkey, not with his track record. This is about trying to hasten the downfall of Brown's government, get the Tories back in, and not coincidentally position himself back in the public eye for a shot at the leadership in a couple of years' time.

[biog.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I don't live in David Dickhead's constituency, what are terrible choice, rock & hard place come to mind, although sadly not in the sexual sense.

Where's Lord Screaming Sutch when you need him (hmm, think I mish-shpelt Sutch's name there).

[softfruit.livejournal.com]

Alas dead (stays in my mind as I was at a meeting the next day where we held a minute's inane giggling in his honour, as it was probably what he would have wanted) but there are plenty of others in the Loonies.

Prior to McKenzie stepping up to the line, with Lib Dem and Lab both not likely to stand and Davis perhaps running as an Indy, I was looking forward to an election where the canvassers might be able to ask, "are you against 42 day detention or are you a Loony?" on the doorstep.

[miriammoules.livejournal.com]

I used to live in that constituency, I have friends their. Most are saying they just won't vote. I would love someone to run as RON or NOTA...

[tranibri.livejournal.com]

I'll comment on this in more detail later
BUT

Davis supports among other things
Min 5 year for possesion of canibis (ie one weak join would count)
Life without parole for predated murder.
The Iraq war
28 day detention with out charge
The orignal crimal justice bill that Major goverment created which was the beginings the removal of the right to peaceful protest

He would not understand liberty if it bit him on the ass.
This is more to do with another attempt at becoming tory leader and not much else.

Nice to see Murdoch is giving up the whole ruse and now just directly running his own candidates. A move that is sure to save the british tax payer a lot of money. Come to think of it why do we need an opposition anway when EVERYONE dance to his tune anway.

vote Zanu Labout get Murdoch
voteTory get Murdoch
vote LIB Dem probably get Murdoch

VOTE MOLOTOV !!!!

[lovingboth]

Yeah, if he'd been Tory leader, you'd have been saying he was the worst since Thatcher.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I wish he had won the leadership - I don't believe that he would have done what Cameron has done to make the party electable.

[lovingboth]

I do, because I think most of what Cameron has done is a) be new, and b) have Brown as the opponent.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lj_sucks_/]

I'd like to see his voting record prior to 1997, to see if he really believes any of the stuff he now claims to believe.

Every politician is in favor of civil liberties when they're in opposition.

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

That's all that Labour can do? All of it?

No logical defence of the policy, no appeal to patriotism and national security, no local hero with passionate campaigning skills... Instead, the Labour Party have co-opted a Murdoch minion and, through him, are trying to co-opt the Sun and the rest of News International.

I suppose it's consistent: MacKenzie is surely all in favour of oppressive surveillance - he has repeatedly used bugging, blackmail and the deliberate destruction of an individual's private life in pursuit of profit and to further his owner's political agenda.

If he gets in, he'll make a wonderful Whip.

[lovingboth]

Labour would be mad to put up an official candidate, because they know what the result would be - they were in third place at the General Election, and nationally they're far more unpopular now than then. Where's the advantage? Only in going 'Tory split, what if they did this over everything, waste of public money, the House of Commons has spoken'.

If I were running Labour, and I could put a by-election team in to help even a shit like MacKenzie without anyone noticing, I'd do it.